How I Improved My Photography!

We see it all over social media, those Instagrams with the gorgeous, aesthetically pleasing feed, those blog posts with photos that slay. We all want to have ‘photo goals’…

This post has come highly requested. Now, I’m not trying to toot my own horn here but I think my photos have come a long way. This post will give you an insight into how I upped my photography game and little ways how you can improve yours!

So first things first, my photos used to be horrific, I’d take photos with the flash on, no proper background or idea to them. I’ve shamefully uploaded photos onto my blog when I first started blogging of some lipsticks stuck on my MAC keyboard with the flash on… I’ve also proceeded to use windowsills as my ‘white background’ you see the problems right? Don’t even go there, I’m so ashamed of myself haha!

I’m going to make people cringe at my photos but here’s some of the disasters I’ve taken in the past and that actually made their way onto my blog…

Horrifying right?

So as I got to know more bloggers and cared a bit more about my blog, I started to notice that my photos were pretty crap. I couldn’t afford to buy a brand new camera, the lights, the props and backgrounds. I was a student struggling to live and even though I worked I still sometimes couldn’t make ends meet. So I had to make do with what I had – the natural lighting, some wallpaper samples that I got from B&Q and some jewellery dishes and some fake flowers I used to brighten up my room at uni. It was either that or my pretty quilt cover from IKEA. I made it work, I just edited the shit out of them all. I was using my iPhone 5s camera too so the quality in comparison to phones out now is a huge difference. So they started to improve slowly but surely…

So as you can see, they got a bit better. They were starting to look a tiny bit more photogenic. I made do with what I had. There was still plenty of room for improvement though! Now for the part you all came to read – I wont delay this any further!

Here’s what I did to up my photography game!

1. Camera
The most obvious one. I used to take all my photos with my iPhone 5s until I purchased Hayley’s (teapartybeauty) old camera from her. I’ve ALWAYS been in awe of Hayley’s photographs, they’re so bright and just full of so much gorgeousness. Her photos are one reason why I decided to up my game! So I use the Canon 1100d with a 40mm pancake lens as suggested to me by Hayley when I bought her camera off her. Many bloggers recommend 50/55/45mm lens but my 40mm works just fine! I can’t tell you much about the settings because Caitlin (throughthemirror) kindly facetimed me and went through it all with me so now I literally don’t touch the settings haha! But she’s been an absolute babe in helping me with the settings.

2. Lighting
Softbox lights are a gift from God. You can get these for cheap on eBay. They’re perfect because it means no matter the weather, you can take photos. No more will I dread these early nights! They’re so easy to set up as well. It’s too risky to wait for a good natural light day, this works for some people I know but it really doesn’t work for me, I’m far too impatient!

3. Knowing what works well for you!
For example – we all love a good flatlay, I just suck at styling them, I can’t quite figure out how to lay products and props to make it look good. However, stand-up photos from ‘low down’ work great for me. This is something that Corinne (skinnedcartree) taught me, it seems like common sense right? But I just didn’t even think about it! She told me about how she styles her photos, what props she uses, the angles – all sorts! That really helped because I made me realise I didn’t NEED to take a perfect flatlay to be a ‘good blogger’ (lol). Talk to your blogger friends, get them to feedback on your photos, do the same for them! Help a blogger out!

For example – my flatlay versus my ‘stand up’:

4. Experimenting
I’ve received SO many comments about my fairy lights in the backgrounds of my photos. I think they look great, so I’m going to be keeping those in my photos for the foreseeable future. I’ve played around with props a fair bit too – from magazines and books, to fake flowers and dishes but right now I’m loving my rose gold cactus and geometric candle holder. It seems to be giving a super cute autumnal vibe. I might change it up a bit for Christmas, who knows?

5. Props
Pretty much anything can be turned into props for photos! It’s just a case of toying around with what you like! My personal favourites have to be fairy lights, rose gold things, fake flowers and dishes!

6. Practise!
Honestly, some nights I sit there for hours just taking photos, uploading them and viewing them on my macbook to work out what looks good, what needs improving etc. I know realistically not everyone has time to do this. Just make time, assign yourself a couple hours once a week to do this. Trust me, it’ll make a massive difference.

There you go! The 6 ways I upped my photography game! As you can see from my embarrassing photos – I’ve certainly come a long way in the last year! I’m pretty chuffed with myself to say the least. This post is really long I know, I’m sorry! I know as well that cameras and lights and all the rest of it aren’t ideal for some – I get that totally, I was in the same boat for soooo long but if you can save a bit of money each week, ask for them for Birthdays & Christmas, you might be pleasantly surprised! Just remember that taking photos shouldn’t be a chore, it should be your chance to get creative and let your personality shine through!

What would you do to up your game? How would you change it? Do you think your photos have come a long way too? Let me know in the comments below!

I hope you enjoyed the post! Be sure to let me know in the comments what you think! Follow me on all social media for updates on the blog and general life updates! Thanks for reading,